What to Do When Life Gets in the Way of Your Health Journey

Few of us live in a bubble where every day is the same and we never receive a curve ball of some sort. Life tends to mess with even the best-laid plans!

When you live with diabetes, this is even truer. A “normal” day can suddenly become a challenge if you have to deal with unexpected high or low blood sugars.

In this post, I’m going to focus on how to mentally and practically handle situations where we can’t necessarily eat what we planned to, or we have to skip a workout.

The first thing I want to stress is that you don’t have to follow your plan 100% all the time. Just as one good meal won’t make you super healthy, one less healthy meal won’t destroy all of your progress.

I think it’s when we strive for constant perfection that we tend to fail. It becomes an all-or-nothing mentality that isn’t healthy for anyone. We don’t have to be either 100% compliant to our health plan or completely throw it out the window. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could find a middle ground?

Let’s dive into how we can find that balance by looking at some of the most common situations where life can get in the way of our health plans.

If you have to eat out several days per week (maybe you are on a work trip or have family in town), you can still join the party without completely throwing your health goals to the wind. If you know where you’re going, check out the menu beforehand and make a reasonable selection. It has been shown that we have better judgment when we don’t have to choose what to eat in the actual restaurant.

If you are on a very strict diet, you can also ask for special orders. Ask for your meat to not be covered in butter or sauce, have the dressing on the side, and pass on the bread and butter basket. And it’s ok not to polish off your plate, just ask for half a serving and give the rest to somebody in need.

Skipping a workout

The kids are sick, you had to work late, and you are exhausted. You really don’t want to work out or you just don’t feel like you have the time. This situation (or something similar) should be familiar to everyone. So what can we do about it?

Well, first you need to make an assessment: Do you need to go directly to bed or is the plan to crash on the couch and watch a movie? If it’s directly to bed, then that’s most likely what you need to do. Being overly exhausted and working out is not a good combo. We always need to listen to our body and try to make rational choices to avoid injury and stress.

If you do have the energy but just not the motivation, remember that a workout doesn’t have to happen in the gym. If the plan is to watch a movie, you can do that while moving or doing resistance training. Grab a couple of weights and do a quick full-body circuit for 15-20 minutes in front of the TV.

Or skip the movie and do one of my home video workouts. You’ll feel better afterward and you will get a better night’s sleep.

The reality is that we all almost always have 20-30 minutes to ourselves every day that we can spend however we like. If you have made a commitment to yourself to be active for at least 20-30 minutes per day, then you can and will find the time for it. Honor your commitment!

You’re just not feeling it

Let’s be honest, this is what gets in the way of our healthy lifestyle most often. We simply don’t feel like working out or eating healthy food.

Going back to what I described before, perhaps you aren’t feeling it because you are 120% exhausted. Maybe it really is time for a break? This is when you have to be very honest with yourself (which can be tough). Are you exhausted or just “not feeling it”?

If you are exhausted, you might need to evaluate your current plan and make sure that you have scheduled a rest day and some quality down time. Knowing that you have that in the plan can also help you push through the “don’t feel it” periods.

If your problem is a lack of motivation rather than exhaustion, try following the guidelines in my post about goal setting and motivation to get back on track. If you can set realistic goals and find your positive motivation, you will have fewer days where you’re “just not feeling it”.

I think they hit us all, those days where we’d rather stay in bed or watch Netflix all day. But by planning your workouts and your meals, you can make being healthy a habit, and habits can be hard to break. I don’t even think about it anymore, I just get dressed and go to the gym, because that’s what I do.

Don’t let life get in the way of your health goals, but also don’t forget to live. Enjoy the ride; hopefully it’s going to be a long one.

About Christel Oerum

Christel is a passionate fitness enthusiast and the co-founder of Diabetes Strong. She is a Certified Personal Trainer specializing in diabetes. As someone living with type 1 diabetes, Christel is particularly passionate about helping others with diabetes live active healthy lives. She’s a diabetes advocate, public speaker, and author of the popular diabetes book Fit With Diabetes.

Reader Interactions

Comments

Perfect article for me right now. My son and I both just got over the flu, followed by my daughter and son getting back to back stomach bugs. My apt doesn’t have room for much equipment (plus I have a cranky downstairs neighbor that complains about noise), but I have a yoga mat and some resistance bands. I need to use them.

My life with Diabetes Management was great after receiving a Kidney Transplant 2 years ago (Feb 14, 2016)…
Life changes included diet, exercise, visits with my Health Management Team, Mindfulness Practices, Spirituality Development, Volunteer involvement…
My progress with Kidney Transplant has been excellent…
Then I was hit with uncontrollable glucose in a situation where that is a major variable for a healthy recovery…

I currently have a heel wound that was caused by a Diabetic Ulcer in November 2016…
That resulted in getting 10 skin grafts to rebuild the heel tissue…
In July 2017 the heel was back to normal where I could walk again…
In December 2017 I developed a blister in the heel causing the recent repaired region to break down…
I went back for reconstructive surgery where it was determined that there was an infection in the bone in that region…
I’ve been put on IV AntiBiotics for the purpose of attacking the bacteria in the bone most effectively…
I have a brittle condition with my glucose control…
Last year I had readings from 28-399…
I was told that high sugars attract bacteria to get readings under 200…
The past week I have had readings in the 300’s…
This has occurred while being moved to a Skilled Nursing Facility where my daily activities have changed…
Meal time, meal selection, insulin injection times & quantity, and an understanding medical staff are issues I am facing…
I am frustrated and thought this group may be understanding and supportive…
It is helpful to have a forum to vent my thoughts…
Thanks…😎

Hi Chip, you don’t need to be on Facebook to be part of the challenge. The challenge happens here on TheFitBlog and through daily emails. This challenge ends tomorrow, but we will have another one in April or May. If you sign up for my newsletter, you will get an email when you can sign up for the next challenge.

I like your comment, you can make being healthy a habit and habits are hard to break. Up until a couple years ago that was true for me. But because of detours in my life, I have gotten away from those habits but the desire is still there. That gives me encouragement that I can get back into those healthy habits again. I just need to be patient and keep trying and reevaluating my goals.